Talking Points:
Congress is on the verge of voting for a new Child Nutrition Act. HR 5504, the House version of the bill, which would allow more children to have access to healthful plant-based options, may be rejected for a much weaker, stripped-down Senate version.

Talking Points:
The end of the 2009-2010 legislative session is fast approaching and the U.S. Senate is simply sitting on major animal protection bills, some passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in 2009.
There is still time for the Senate to take action on these bills, but they need a push from constituents to let them know that legislation to provide better protection for animal is important to voters. The bills range from ending the interstate primate pet trade to banning the distribution of crush videos, and even ending research on great apes. While it is unrealistic to expect the Senate to approve all of the bills below, they owe it to the American public to give fair consideration to many bills that have already passed the scrutiny of the House instead of letting these bills sit in committee without any further attention.

Help Stop Elephant Abuse at Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo!
As a result of inadequate facilities, abusive management practices, longstanding intentional neglect, and breeding practices in callous disregard for elephants’ welfare, the elephants Bamboo, Watoto, and Chai at Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo suffer from severe and chronic foot and joint injuries, unexplained physical trauma and bleeding, and sustained psychological harm. Chai’s daughter, Hansa, died in 2007 when she was only six years old as a result of the Zoo’s practices. A fourth Woodland Park Zoo elephant, Sri, who is currently on loan to another zoo’s breeding program, has endured the horror of carrying a full-term deceased fetus in her womb for over four years.
That’s why the Animal Legal Defense Fund is representing two outraged citizens who filed a lawsuit against the City of Seattle, Washington. The lawsuit aims to stop the City’s unlawful use of taxpayer dollars to support the Woodland Park Zoo’s reckless and illegally cruel treatment of its elephants.

Sign the petition today to urge the City of Seattle to stop funding the Woodland Park Zoo’s cruel elephant exhibit.

Ohio man sentenced in videotaped cow cruelty case
An Ohio dairy farm worker accused of beating cows while unwittingly being filmed has pleaded guilty to six counts of animal cruelty. A court clerk says 25-five-year-old Billy Joe Gregg Jr. was sentenced Friday in Marysville on the misdemeanors to eight months in jail. That was cut to four months because of time already served.

Farmer beware, some things to consider when hiring farm workers
For livestock farmers, hiring has become increasingly complicated as they must consider whether an applicant is actually an undercover animal rights activist, destined to put them out of business…Hiring an activist can spell disaster for your farm, as two Ohio operations found out this year. And it can happen at any farm, in any county.

Oklahoma cattlemen’s group concerned about new rule
An emergency rule that requires companies that perform reproductive services on animals in Oklahoma to have a veterinarian on staff could put the industry in a “real tailspin,” the head of a state cattlemen’s group says.

DNA Is New Weapon In Fight Against Dogfighting
Scientists are hoping that a new DNA database for dogs will help track — and prosecute — people who breed dogs to fight. But advocates say there’s a risk that the DNA records could be used against the dogs, or against people who adopt them.

The Meat Eaters
Our own form of predation is of course more refined than those of other meat-eaters, who must capture their prey and tear it apart as it struggles to escape. We instead employ professionals to breed our prey in captivity and prepare their bodies for us behind a veil of propriety, so that our sensibilities are spared the recognition that we too are predators, red in tooth if not in claw (though some of us, for reasons I have never understood, do go to the trouble to paint their vestigial claws a sanguinary hue). The reality behind the veil is, however, far worse than that in the natural world. Our factory farms, which supply most of the meat and eggs consumed in developed societies, inflict a lifetime of misery and torment on our prey, in contrast to the relatively brief agonies endured by the victims of predators in the wild. From the moral perspective, there is nothing that can plausibly be said in defense of this practice.

The costs of cheap meat
The majority of this cheap protein is delivered by “factory farms” that house thousands of animals in confinement. These concentrated animal feeding operations, or CAFOs, produce mass quantities of food at low cost.

Told to Eat Its Vegetables, America Orders Fries
It’s been a busy week for vegetables….Both efforts, high and low, are aimed at the same thing: getting America to eat its vegetables. Good luck. Despite two decades of public health initiatives, stricter government dietary guidelines, record growth of farmers’ markets and the ease of products like salad in a bag, Americans still aren’t eating enough vegetables.

Egg farms with violations need scrutiny, Markey says
Representative Edward J. Markey is planning at today’s congressional hearing to ask federal regulators to prioritize inspections at egg farms that have a history of violations and at producers — including three in Maine — that have ties to these farms.

To Label or Not Label Lab-Spawned Salmon
Consumer groups urged the Food and Drug Administration to require labeling of genetically modified salmon Tuesday, while industry representatives called on the FDA to stick to current rules the agency says prevent such labeling.

Pets help people cope with their troubles
“An animal can provide a non-threatening relationship and can easily establish trust, especially to those who have learned to not trust, talk or feel,” Slayton said.

Below are all the email contacts found for this alert. Some recipients do not have emails [see complete contact info at end]
COPY/PASTE an email block into the TO: or BCC: line of a new email
COPY/PASTE the sample letter into the body of that email
Change some words, sign your name/full address, hit send

Appellate court overturns conviction in 2001 UW arson
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ordered a new trial for accused Earth Liberation Front (ELF) arsonist Briana Waters, saying her conviction for the May 2001 arson at the University of Washington Center for Urban Horticulture was riddled with judicial errors.

NC lab halts work after PETA video
A North Carolina lab has stopped doing research and is surrendering all of its animals a week after an undercover video showed what activists allege were workers cruelly treating dogs, cats and rabbits, federal regulators said Wednesday. U.S. Department of Agriculture spokesman Dave Sacks said officials are trying to find new homes for more than 200 animals that were at Professional Laboratory and Research Services Inc. He said it was the company’s decision to give them up and stop research

US Senate urged to ban sale of animal ‘crush videos’
The US Senate was urged on Wednesday to ban the sale of so-called “crush videos” — sexual fetish films in which small animals are maimed or killed. The US House of Representatives voted 416-3 in July to bar the sale or distribution of such videos with fines or up to five years in prison….The House bill explicitly exempts the sale or distribution of videos showing hunting, trapping, fishing, or any typical veterinary or agricultural husbandry practices.

Animal protection attorneys are pushing the law to treat animals more like humans
Despite the massive potential for death and damage to wildlife, animal welfare lawyers say current laws limit the legal options available to those who are seeking to protect wildlife. “The oil leak represents an example where tremendous pain and death are brought to individual animals,” says David S. Favre, a professor at the Michigan State University College of Law in East Lansing who is active in the animal law field. “The law presently has no easy way to deal with these individual deaths, so we can only look to environmental law for remedies.” It’s something they’d like to change.

Of Resistance and Fighting for the First Amendment
No group has seen its First Amendment rights erode more quickly and dramatically than those of us who are vegan and agitate for Animal Rights and the Earth. In 2005 John Lewis, deputy assistant director of the FBI, declared that, “The No. 1 domestic terrorism threat is the eco-terrorism, animal-rights movement.”

President Bill Clinton “experiments” with near-vegan diet
Just a few weeks after Angelina Jolie decided that her vegan diet nearly killed her, President Bill Clinton revealed that he has adopted a plant-based diet to save his life. In a Huffington Post interview, he said that he is eating a near-vegan menu because he wants to be here to enjoy his future grandchildren.

Human rights valued over animal rights
After recent articles in The Daily Gamecock and the recent discussions in our nation regarding stem cells, I think it is time for some raised consciousness in regards to how we treat animals…If you were to pause and reflect on the poor and often cruel treatment of animals present in our daily lives, I would hope that you would be as appalled as I am.Studying the Big-Brained Dolphin

Vegan Friendly Joints (via Vegan Score)
There are also some places up for voting that have great vegan options and really make it easy when you frequent their places. Here are a few (thanks Vegan Score for posting!) If you vote for one of these, be sure to post a note about voting because of their vegan goodies.

Scott DeMuth Agrees to Plea Bargain in Midwest “Animal Terrorism” Case
Tuesday was supposed to be the beginning of a lengthy Green Scare trial in Davenport, Iowa, seeking to find Scott DeMuth guilty of conspiracy to commit animal enterprise terrorism in relation to an Animal Liberation Front action at the University of Iowa. But on Monday afternoon in federal court, DeMuth agreed to a deal on a different charge–calling off the trial and leaving the FBI empty-handed on the 2004 animal experimentation facility raid.

New EU rules on animal testing ban use of apes
After two years of heated debate on how to protect animal welfare without scuppering scientific research, the European Parliament agreed to reduce the number of animal tests in Europe and enforce stricter rules for animals used in research. Under the new legislation, experiments on great apes such as chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans are to be banned and “strict” restrictions set on the use of primates in general.

Are Criminal Animal-Abuse Charges Heading Toward N.C. Lab?
PETA has filed a complaint with the USDA against a North Carolina lab used by Pharma companies that tests flea and tick pesticides. According to this AP story, local prosecutors and the company’s president are paying attention. PETA referred videos of the abuse to local prosecutors, an increasingly common tactic animal rights groups are using. Local District Attorney Frank Parrish said his office is reviewing the case and will investigate to see whether or not criminal charges should be filed.

Leaked Photos Lead to Primate Lab Protest
The 50 or so demonstrators were fenced into a corner across from Primate Products, an importer of animals for experimentation and research. They held signs and chanted about what they call “shameless and reckless destruction of innocent life.” The leaked photos that have created the furor depict bloodied, lifeless primates in a surgical setting, deep gashes on skulls, an open wound on an arm.

FWC Prohibits Chasing Foxes/Coyotes with Dogs within Enclosures
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission approved a final rule on Wednesday permanently prohibiting the chasing of foxes and coyotes with dogs within an enclosure in Florida. The FWC has worked on this issue for more than a year, and the practice was temporarily prohibited in February.

Mapping Traffic’s Toll on Wildlife
“For some people the only contact they have with wild animals is when they run them over,” said Fraser M. Shilling, the lead researcher on the project. “This is the first time people have been able to record roadkill online and I think it will change our understanding of what our road system is really doing to wildlife.”

After nearly a decade of living in peace, over 200 chimpanzees are slated by the federal government to return to biomedical research, where they may be housed in isolation and used in invasive experiments.
Tell Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius to stop the transfer of these chimps to research facilities and to instead retire them so they may live the rest of their lives in peace at a sanctuary.

Protect Night Monkeys from Being Captured for Labs
Please write to the ambassadors of Colombia, Peru, and Brazil. Ask them to put pressure on local authorities to investigate the massive cross-border trade in night monkeys and protect their country’s night monkeys.Contact:

Calendar

January2019

NARN's board of directors meets monthly to discuss our campaigns and administrative issues. Guests are welcome to attend if we have enough time on our agenda.

If you wish to have an agenda item added to the NARN Board Meeting, please email info@narn.org at least a day in advance. You can also send us a message on Facebook anytime or even the day of the meeting and we'll get back to you. All NARN Board Meetings are held in Seattle.

Join local activists to help educate the public about the dangers of purchasing dogs from places like Puppyland. Puppyland is a new store in Puyallup that sells puppies from breeders.

The demo is until 3pm, but don't feel that you have to be there the entire time. Come for an hour or two to help hand out fliers or hold a sign.

This is a peaceful demonstration, inspired by our desire to speak out against the dangers of allowing businesses like Puppyland to exist in our communities. Join us in providing free, educational information to the public about the dangers of supporting backyard breeding practices and puppy mills, the importance of spaying and neutering pets, the time and money it takes to responsibly care for a living creature, and the positive effects of screening pet owners through application processes.

For updates see the Facebook event page:
https://www.facebook.com/events/2093159060741059/

Come join us for a delicious brunch at the fabulous Celest Cafe AND write some letters for animals.

NARN provides the stationery, pens, stamps, sample letters, and ideas for what to write -- just bring yourself. You can even bring your laptop if you'd prefer to type or email your letters!

Why letter writing? Letter writing is a simple way to make change for the animals! At our letter writing events, we write for many different reasons: opposition to the creation of new animal laboratories, support for sending animals to sanctuary, promotion of vegan events and issues through letters to the media, and raising the spirits of activists and comrades who have been jailed for their pro-animal and political actions!

Join local activists to help educate the public about the dangers of purchasing dogs from places like Puppyland. Puppyland is a new store in Puyallup that sells puppies from breeders.

The demo is until 6pm, but don't feel that you have to be there the entire time. Come for an hour or two to help hand out fliers or hold a sign.

This is a peaceful demonstration, inspired by their desire to speak out against the dangers of allowing businesses like Puppyland to exist in our communities. Join them in providing free, educational information to the public

For updates see the Facebook event page:
https://www.facebook.com/events/512061562622307/

The University of Washington's Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) will be meeting to discuss various research protocols (study designs). This is your chance to voice your opinion about the research on animals that goes on at the UW. Please come and speak for the animals!
The meetings are held at the South Campus Center; Room #342 (in between San Juan Road & Columbia Road); behind the Magnuson Health Sciences Center (1925 N.E. Pacific St) )
http://www.washington.edu/maps/

Unfortunately, they frequently re-schedule or cancel their meetings in an attempt to avoid the public, so please call the Public Affairs Office at 206-543-9180 to make sure the meeting is still happening at the given time.
You can also check out their calendar here (copy & paste link into your browser)
http://oaw.washington.edu/iacuc-meeting-schedule/

This month we will be checking out Travelers Thali House. They have tons of vegan options. See their menu here:
http://www.travelersthalihouse.com/Menu102014.html
The Social Discussion Group is a casual event. Drinkers and non-drinkers are welcome, and you don't have to be vegetarian to participate. We hope you'll join us! Questions? Contact rachel[at]narn[dot]org

Join local activists to help educate the public about the dangers of purchasing dogs from places like Puppyland. Puppyland is a new store in Puyallup that sells puppies from breeders.

The demo is until 3pm, but don't feel that you have to be there the entire time. Come for an hour or two to help hand out fliers or hold a sign.

This is a peaceful demonstration, inspired by their desire to speak out against the dangers of allowing businesses like Puppyland to exist in our communities. Join them in providing free, educational information to the public

For updates see the Facebook event page:
https://www.facebook.com/events/406570843449273/

La Cocina School at El Centro de la Raza will be offering a tasty Vegan Tamales Cooking Class in partnership with the Food Empowerment Project! Now is your chance to learn how to make vegan tamales from a master tamalera! The tamales are prepared in the handmade and traditional fashion using cultural ingredients. Sweet sangrias, beer and wine will also be served and is included in the ticket price.

Class will begin promptly at 10:00 AM in the kitchen at El Centro de la Raza. Classes typically take 2.5 to 3 hours long. All cooking supplies and ingredients will be provided, but please bring your own apron.

The money for the La Cocina School at El Centro de la Raza Latin Cooking Classes go to fund El Centro de la Raza's Senior programs.

For updates on this event see
https://www.facebook.com/events/2404477662895760/